Words of Wisdom from Cheef Chebe

CEO/Global President of Wakawaka Community Development Network

“We cannot allow our pain and suffering to continue unabated,” Cheef Chebe says reflecting the direction of his message to the new generation of global African youth. “First thing first, Africans are not born or destined to be poor forever; we are born onto a rich and fertile land with unimaginable natural beauty, wealth and the God gifted opportunity to live the best lives in the world and yet, sadly, too many Africans grow up inheriting poverty and poor living conditions at home and abroad whilst the outside world is happily profiteering and feasting upon our hot boiling blood and toil.

“Secondly, Africans are not cursed or born to suffer forever and yet suffering is what most of us do every day from birth to death, home and abroad. Anywhere, you look around in a fast-unbecoming world, overqualified African engineers, some of them PhD holders, are busy toiling as security guards in UK, Europe and other so-called superior destinations overseas with unlimited opportunity of human progress. African doctors are working as carers abroad for much less pay than their skills and experiences demand. African PhD and Master’s degree holders are working as night club bouncers in Europe. African migrants are working for peanuts abroad and facing serious discrimination every day for no other reason than being African.

“So many of us go abroad with amazing dreams. Some of those dreams include having a better education, better job, better/superior lifestyle and being able to buy a house abroad and to build a house back home. For so few of us, Africans living in the diaspora, these dreams are achievable. But for so many of us, Ghanaian and African Bogas, the dream of greener pastures oversees has not materialised. I’m to a very great extend a victim of this failed material delusion. After living in the UK for over three decades, I don’t have a degree to my name and neither do I own a house in Ghana or anywhere in Great Britain. The truth of the matter is that some people’s lives are improved living abroad but for those of us who have not found material riches abroad, there is another way forward. Another way is packing our bags and returning home to make a new start.

“The famous Akan phrase, SANKOFA, means it is never a shame to go back to our roots and realise who we are. It is never too late to reconnect with our roots and rediscover our full potentials as individuals and our collective greatness as Africans. We must consider returning to our own land in Africa where the spirit of the ancestors eagerly awaits to welcome us back home as newly reawakened souls. We must come home no matter how hard it is to imagine, there are new and fast improving opportunities for Africans in the diaspora to bring our expertise, skills, wisdoms, inspirational stories and African Diaspora Creativity (ADC) to reimagine, rebuild, relieve, and champion a new reality for ourselves and our future generations in Africa.

“I feel that after trying a new beginning and hoping to reset my life in Ghana for over a year now, I still don’t have the money rolling in yet but I feel the good seeds of my abundant creative wealth are starting to not only geminate but are growing and turning into beautiful crops. In some instances, I am starting to cultivate and utilise my knowledge, wisdom, experiences and skills in unimaginable ways that is yielding measurable positive impact not only in my life but in that of so many others.

“The truth is that although my life and that of so many Africans living abroad may sound in the material realm like failures, I don’t feel in anyway like a failed man and in many ways the UK has added great value to my life. I feel I have achieved so many great things living in the UK although material richness is not yet part of my living reality. I feel that I am wealthy even without the money. In fact, I very often, without the money, feel wealthier than the richest man in the world. I feel wealthy because I have written over 50 books dedicated to the spirit and development of Africa. I have published over 15 books and although I have not sold the books in the UK, I am now finding a new audience for my books in Ghana and hopefully soon in continental Africa. I have submitted six of my books for consideration to be included in the Ghana Education Service and they are currently at the final stage of approval. I feel turning my attention to Ghana has added new purpose, a new meaning and a new value to my life. I see a new opportunity to earn an income as a Ghanaian and African author who has written so many books including African Dream, Ancestors, Anansi and the Aliens, to name but a few.

“My inspirational message to fellow African Bogas and especially, African creatives in the diaspora world is that if your wealth is not growing abroad, if your value is not appreciating or improving abroad, you can come home and make a new start. We must use and utilise our best creative wisdom, come together as one great positive force in the world and inspire our current and future generations to believe in Africa as the paradise nation for all Africans and the natural spiritual destination for all African diasporas. Africa is the best home for Africans, no matter how convenient it maybe to live abroad.

“My brothers and sisters, uncles and aunties, nephews and nieces home and abroad, let us wake up and work together now to Make Africa Rich Again (MARA). To all the beautiful African souls who are facing horrible inhuman discrimination abroad, please make a conscience decision to come home or at least to visit home soon, no matter how hard or how long it may take you to come home, there is no feeling of shame. You may be worth more in Africa than wherever you are that is not fully appreciative of you or adding value to your life. You can add better value to your life as a Boga in Ghana if you make all your skills, contacts, experience and your wisdom count in your favour.

“The Wakawaka Train is moving and we are counting on the African diaspora’s spiritual contribution to fuel the engine of the Wakawaka Movement. The right time to take the best decision for yourself and the brighter future generations of Africans is now. It is better to jump cautiously now and aim to land on your feet than waiting to be pushed sooner or later and forced to fall flat on your face. It is better to leave where you are suffering and struggling to make progress now before forced deportation is made to become your future reality in Europe or anywhere you are in this world. It is better to act now for your own good before you are forced to react in bad faith. Believe it or not, it is not a shame to return home without money or a home of your own. The most important ingredient of wealth and progress in your life is you. You have yourself, your skill, experience, and above all, your knowledge and wisdom of the outer world which people crave at home.

“Finally, it is not by any means easy and plain sailing returning home to any country in Africa, including Ghana. But, and as it is already becoming increasingly harder to go abroad and much harder to succeed as Africans in Europe or anywhere else in the diaspora world, it is only wise to voluntarily start packing our bags now and returning home to Motherland Africa from every corner of the world through voluntary mass remigration back to Homeland Africa.

“My final words of wisdom to all Africans: Africa is the best natural home for Africans wherever we are. It is time to return to our roots voluntarily as Africans and help realize, replan, rebuild and relive our full potential by following the positive spirits of our ancestors in the pursuit of our own African Dream; a prosperous continental-nation-Africa in a very unbecoming world!”

African Dream by Cheef Chebe book launch in Scotland and books Aliens! and Ancestors.